Other Topics - Civil Wrongs

Question:

Can a wife take civil action against her violent husband and get financial compensation of any kind for his behavour ?

Answer:

Yes ! Previously married spouses were prevented from bring civil action against one another to get compensation in such cases . However, their immunity under the Civil Damage Ordinance of 1977 was lifted and they became free to sue one another like other people. Thus a spouse who claims to suffer damage at the hands of his/her spouse can bring a civil action for damages under the ordinance – but the family court will hear the matter as the grounds for the action are rooted in a family conflict.

In a case before the Tel Aviv Family Court in September 2001 a wife sued her husband for punitive damages for the pain, suffering and embarrassment she suffered following a physical attack by him in which he broke her nose, and suffered considerable bruising and scratching. He had been convicted of assault by a magistrate’s court and the district court rejected his appeal. He counter-filed his wife’s plea at the family court with a plea for compensation for damage to their mutually owned property and furniture caused by tenants to whom his wife rented out the apartment without his knowledge and consent. The court gave a compromise judgment, and awarded each side compensation, but less than the amount they claimed in their respective pleas

Question:

Can a Jewish woman whose Jewish husband refuses to obey a rabbinical court judgment obliging him to divorce sue him for damages in a civil court ?

Answer:

Yes, a woman can sue her husband at the family court if he disobeys a rabbinical ruling obliging him to divorce his wife - and if she succeeds she may be entitled to financial compensation . In December 2004, an 'aguna' was awarded 425,000 shekels damages by Jerusalem Family Court , from the time of the relevant ruling until she filed her plea for civil damages. This only applies where the rabbinical court has held that the husband must divorce, under Jewish law.

Question:

What must a victim of sexual abuse at the hands of a member of his/her family have to prove to be entitled to civil compensation if that personhas already been convicted by a criminal court ?

Answer:

If the criminal judgment finding the person guilty is final, and there is no further possibility of appeal, then to be entitled to damages under the Civil Wrongs Ordinance of 1977, the victim will have to prove that he/she has suffered damage and that there is a causal connection between this damage and the acts committed against him/her. Clearly this involves the use of expert medical evidence. Damage is awarded under certain standard categories.

Question:

Is compensation awarded to a victim of sexual violence within the family additional to any sums awarded by the court convicting the perpetrator of the offences ?

Answer:

No. Any compensation awarded by the court dealing with the criminal case is to be deducted from any sum set by a civil court dealing with a civil plea for compensation Under the Civil Wrongs Ordinance of 1977.

This point was made clear in November 2003 by Tel Aviv Family Court dealing with a plea for compensation for physical and emotional damage caused as a result of the defendant committing various sexual offences against his cohabitee’s 11 year old daughter. It held that the 80,000 Shekels compensation set in the criminal case would be deducted from any compensation set in the civil case.

Question:

Can a victim of sexual abuse at the hands of her mother’s ‘partner’ file for civil damages before he/she is 18 ?

Answer:

Yes, via his/her mother. In November 2003 Tel Aviv Family Court awarded compensation of nearly half a million shekels to a 17 year old who was the victim of sexual abuse at the hands of her mother’s ‘partner’ when she was 11. The perpetrator had been convicted of various sexual offences against her by a criminal court and a plea for damages was filed at the family court under the Civil Wrongs Ordinance of 1977. The family court held that the girl had suffered permanent emotional damage of 30% as a result of the prolonged sexual abuse she had been caused by the man.

Question:

Can a victim of sexual abuse in the family get financial compensation from the perpetrator if what she suffered did not amount to rape ?

Answer:

Yes it is possible to win a damages suit against a family member, based on a successful criminal conviction and proof of damage, even if the offence was less than rape. For example, in October 2006 Rishon Le Zion family court ordered a father ,who had been found guilty of indecently assaulting his daughter when she was 14, and imprisoned, to pay her 160,000 NIS . She had been held to have a 20% emotional disability by an expert, as a result of the incident. The damages awarded were to cover pain and suffering, loss of study, cost of private tuition, and for medical costs, both past and future.

Question:

Is a teenager or woman who was a child victim of sexual abuse within the family entitled to financial compensation for the fact that she has problems forming relationships with men and is unlikely to marry ?

Answer:

While this is theoretically possible if the victim she can prove a causal relationship between the sexual abuse she underwent and her emotional/sexual problems , Tel Aviv Family Court rejected a claim for financial compensation for "loss of quality of life and reduced chances of building a family” filed by a 17 year old victim of sexual abuse, while awardingher compensation following a criminal conviction of the perpetrator.

Question:

Can a woman undergoing fertility treatment sue the medical centre or hospital where she is a patient for compensation if it is negligent in the handling of her frozen embryos ?

Answer:

Yes, in principle, depending on the exact circumstances. In March 2002 Tel Aviv District Court ordered Herzlia Medical Centre to pay 150,000 N.I.S. compensation, plus legal costs, to a couple after a test tube - containing a frozen embryo ready for implantation into the womb of a surrogate mother - broke. The court held that medical centre should compensate the woman for the loss of her birth-giving potential, set at 10%, before the test tube broke, and for pain, suffering and distress. She tried to have a child, without success, for eleven years. After this incident, she had managed to have a baby using other frozen embryos and a surrogate mother. The court added that if the plaintiff and her husband had not subsequently succeeded in having a baby it would have awarded a higher sum.

Question:

Can parents whose child is born with a rare disease sue the hospital/medical centre the mother attended during her pregnancy for compensation ?

Answer:

Compensation for medical negligence is a developing field. Parents of a four year old child born with a rare hereditary blood disease have sued two hospitals, Yoseftal in Eilat, and the Sharon Hospital, where they were treated at fertility clinics over a ten year period before giving birth to their son following In Vitro Fertilization (I.V.F.) treatment. The parents, of Kurdish origin, have two other normal children, but were not warned that couples of their ethnic group run a 20% risk of giving birth to a baby suffering from the disease Thalasemia Major. They claim they underwent blood and other tests time and time again but were not warned of the potential dangers. If it had been discovered that the foetus had the disease the mother would have had an early abortion, they claimed, adding that early detection was possible.

Since birth the 4 year old child had to have blood transfusions every 2-3 weeks which have bad side effects, including a deterioration in his hearing, sight, and physical mobility, his parents claim. They say they have had to give up work to look after their son and cannot have any social or recreational life.The Tel Aviv District Court has yet to pass judgment on the plea submitted in March 2002.

Question:

Can a child sue a parent for damage resulting from neglect ?

Answer:

Yes! In October 1999 the Supreme Court upheld a district court judgment that a child who has been totally neglected by a parent and accordingly suffers severe emotional damage, is entitled to financial compensation from him/her .

The Supreme Court rejected an appeal by the father against a judgment made by Tel Aviv district court ordering him to pay financial compensation to his three children – whom he openly disowned when he remarried after his first wife committed suicide.

Separated from one another, the three children went back and forth from foster home to institution until they became adults with personality disorders, the court held. Each entered a tragic, downward spiral related to emotional rejection, drugs and crime, and severe trauma.

Calling the case ‘tragic’ and ‘extreme’, the Supreme Court held that the father had failed to carry out his obligation as the children’s natural guardian to look after their needs under The Legal Capacity and Guardianship Law of 1962. Although the children were not in his physical care he still had duties under the act. Furthermore, the Supreme Court held that the father had failed to exercise a duty of care towards his children according to the Civil Wrongs Ordinance. As a result of his negligent behaviour, they suffered severe emotional damage – and accordingly he should compensate them financially.

 ‘It is hard for a child to grow up without parental support. And with their post traumatic background relating to their past, it is not clear whether they could develop even today. It is clear that with all three of them their developmental delay and post traumatic difficulties are connected with their past…’, the court held.

The father’s use of the ‘slippery slope ‘ argument was rejected by the court. He claimed that if a parent was legally liable for a child’s emotional damage , there would be a flood of claims for compensation. The court rejected this, saying that only in extreme cases would children be liable for compensation.

Question:

Is the family of someone killed or injured by the Israeli army or police during attempts to restore law and order during Intifada rioting entitled to compensation ?

Answer:

Yes, in certain circumstances. In March 2002, an enlarged panel consisting of seven Supreme Court judges dealt with the extent of the state’s responsibility for damage caused by its forces attempting to restore order, following a spate of appeals against District Court judgments concerning damage to residents during the first ‘Intifada’ .

Under the Civil Damages (Responsibility of the State) Act of 1952 , the state has the same legal liability for damage it causes as any organized body, unless one of the exceptions applies. The state bears no legal responsibility for damage caused by war-like acts by the Israeli Defence Forces . In its judgment the Supreme Court drew a distinction between situations where security forces were in danger, and their actions were regarded as war-like for which the state bore no liability and situations where no real danger was posed, in which case the state could be liable for damages. The line dividing the two situations was very thin, it said.

In the case before it, the State was appealing against the judgment of the Nazareth District Court in 1998 which held that the defence/exception of a ‘war-like act’ was not available to it in the civil action brought by the estates of two civilian victims of security forces’ action in a village . The forces had been under no danger and had behaved negligently, not observing rules about firing, it held. It did rule that the victims had been contribulently negligent to a small extent, which would be a mitigating factor when compensation was calculated.

Question:

On what legal basis may a parent whose child was abducted from Israel – and returned following legal proceedings – claim and win damages in an Israeli court ?

Answer:

The main legal basis for a plea for civil damages relating to proven child abduction from Israel will be based on a breach of legal obligation under the Damages Ordinance (New Version) 1977- and the causative connection between this and the damage/expenses incurred. The parent who sues can claim that the other parent's action – child abduction – breached the provisions of the Legal Capacity and Guardianship Act of 1962 which grants equal guardianship rights to both parents. Section 18 of the act obliges both parents to act together concerning every aspect of guardianship, as defined in the act. Under section 15 guardianship is defined as including the right to determine the child's place of residence. In other words, the act prohibits one parent from taking unilateral action in connection with the minor's place of residence. The act also obliges parents to maintain contact with the other parent.

A further source on which to base an action for compensation related to proven child abduction could be contractual. For example, in relation to divorced parents the divorce agreement may specifically restrict the custodial parent's right to move within Israel without the other parent's consent or a court order. It may specifically limit custody to Israel and there may be a stop order preventing the minor from leaving Israel, which can only be lifted by the court.

These two legal bases were confirmed by Tel Aviv Family Court in August 2005 ordering a mother who had abducted a child to Australia to pay the father compensation. The child had been returned to Israel following successful Hague Convention proceedings in Australia brought by the father in 2000.

Question

Can costs set in Hague Convention proceedings abroad prevent the non-abducting parent from getting financial compensation in an Israeli court ?

Answer:

This depends very much on what was claimed, and awarded abroad. It may limit the scope of what the parent bringing action in Israel can claim, but may not block him totally.

For example, in December 2005 Tel Aviv Family court rejected a claim by a mother – proven to have abducted a child from Israel to Australia in Hague Convention proceedings there - to put a blanket stop on the father seeking financial relief in Israel. The Australian court which granted the return order had ordered the mother to to pay the father $ 9,000 for costs in Australian proceedings. When the father filed a plea at the Tel Aviv family court against her for 700,000 NIS the mother claimed that the Australian order ended all legal proceedings concerning costs. Tel Aviv family court rejected this argument, and held that it could order her to pay proven expenses not included in the Australian claim.

In its judgment it referred to the protocol of the Australian proceedings where a representative from the Central Authority had said : "And indeed your honour, the bulk of the expenses that he has incurred in respect of legal representation are not sought in this court today. And it will be a matter of proceedings before the Israeli court."

Question:

Can a person who is ‘defamed’ by his or her spouse in front of others succeed in legal action for financial compensation ?

Answer:

Yes ! In November 2002 a husband , a doctor, who was in the process of divorce was successful in his plea for financial compensation from his wife who defamed him in the presence of his daughters, his secretary and patients at his clinic. The Tel Aviv Family Court ordered the wife to pay him 75,000 New Israeli Shekels plus costs and legal fees for calling him names aimed at hurting his reputation , including ‘ a homo’ and a ‘sex maniac ’.

Question:

I am a therapist with a private clinic, on the verge of divorce. Recently, while I had several clients in my waiting room my husband burst in and made an awful scene. He shouted very insulting, personal remarks about my sexuality, I think with the intention of damaging my professional credibility and clientele. It is too soon to know if this incident will result in a loss of clientele and income for me, though I can’t imagine it would enhance my reputation. Do I have to prove actual financial loss to be entitled to compensation if I take legal action against my husband ?

Answer:

No, although one is likely to be awarded much higher damages if actual financial or physical damage can be proved. Due to changes in the law relating to compensation for defamatory statements in 1999, there is now no actual need to prove damage to be entitled to be awarded money. The making of a defamatory statement in front of others is, itself, sufficient to warrant compensation as it is assumed to have a damaging effect on one’s reputation. However, if actual financial damage is proved as a result of the making of a defamatory statement designed to damage one’s reputation – and pocket – the amount the court will award will be much greater. Proof of non-financial damage or loss as well as the actual making of the statement will also increase the sum of compensation likely to be made .

These points were made during a hearing at the Tel Aviv Family Court in October 2002 when a husband , who was a doctor, was awarded compensation under the 1965 Anti-Defamation Act and the 1970 Civil Wrongs Ordinance because of defamatory remarks made in front of his clients in his clinic.

Question:

Can a woman bring a civil action for damages against her sister-in-law who has been spreading false rumours that she is suspected of breaking into her house and stealing from it ?

Answer:

Yes ! If the rumours are false, and her reputation is damaged by them as a result, then she can bring an action for libel and claim damages as compensation.

This was emphasised in July 2001 by the Tel Aviv Family Court when a biologicial father of a child born following casual sex brought an unsuccessful Tort action against a single mother for financial compensation equal to the child maintenance awarded. He claimed the child was the result of ‘sperm theft’ carried out by the mother, who had fraudulently and/or negligently breached their ‘contract’ when they had sex by leading him to believe she used effective contraception.

Rejecting his claims, the court also emphasised that temptation was not, as the man had argued, a recognised ground for fraud as a basis for claiming financial compensation.